I AM Xaviera López

I AM an artist

by MAM Originals11月 13, 2018

Xaviera López, a multifaceted Chilean artist taking part in the I AM project, is adept at dissecting her inner workings - thoughts, feelings, musings - and channeling them into “drawings and very short, hand drawn frame-by-frame, looping animations.”

“What I’m currently loving the most about creation is that I get to work with metaphors and symbols, so I feel like I’m manifesting things into reality, or alchemizing elements of reality into new things. It’s so magical to make something that didn’t exist before.”

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"There are a lot of young women in various fields being very creative, brave and true to themselves."

XAVIERA LÓPEZ

“I feel like I have to be at my best if I want to make good work. I practice yoga for an hour every day. Not only I love doing it, but it’s also really good for my work because it’s designed as a body preparation to sit still and focus. Drawing is a lot like meditation.”

After yoga, she goes back home. “My studio is at home. I take care of all the practical matters, answer emails and then start the creative part of the work. It’s the perfect moment of the day to sketch and have ideas because I feel energetic yet calm. I journal and doodle a lot.” When she needs to boost her imagination, what works best for her is “going away, dancing, watching movies, going to exhibitions, reading books, spending time with someone [she] loves, going for a walk and paying attention, breathing, stretching…” She also loves “what the Barry Lyndon Soundtrack does to [her] brain.”

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Ask questions, always, but especially when it comes to take care of our planet. “It’s very important to be curious and conscious about what you consume and what you throw away. Taking responsibility as individuals for the choices we make. Where does my food come from? What about clothes and products? There’s power in little everyday actions.”

Keep nature close. “The first time I visited Rio de Janeiro I was going through a bitter/cynical moment and the city (and the nature in the city) sort of pushed me into happiness in a way I hadn’t experienced before.”

Xaviera has a thing for Leonardo Da Vinci. “It’s funny because as a kid I would stare at his paintings, drawings and writings forever. Then I read every book, saw every possible documentary about him, but never saw an actual painting from him until last year. It was even more powerful than I imagined.”

"The creative process itself should be the most enjoyable and fulfilling moment."

XAVIERA LÓPEZ

She looks up to other extraordinary women. “There are a lot of young women in various fields being very creative, brave and true to themselves. Lorde or Tavi Gevinson are good examples. I saw the "Chef's Table" Jeong Kwan episode and I still haven’t fully processed the amount of beauty and soul I found there but she is incredible.” Focus on the journey, results will follow. “The creative process itself should be the most enjoyable and fulfilling moment.

Rewards are great but they can’t be the main reason why we’re doing this. Hard work is key but so is playfulness. Wellbeing and health are a priority.” Be honest. “Move from the heart.” For Xaviera, time is “the most valuable thing you have. The one thing that once you spend, you can’t get back. Perhaps the only way to make it count is to be more present even when life is not so nice, and especially when it is nice." She chose the new FERRA 640 because she “loved the monochrome minimal style. It’s very elegant yet casual.”

Discover more about Xaviera´s inner world by visiting her Instagram and website.